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Board-Meeting-Minutes-2024-01-14NOTE: Meeting minutes are posted online as a draft for review until approved at the following meeting. Corrections can be sent to the Secretary, currently rickiwitte4@gmail.com.
Amateur Radio Winter Field Day (WFD) is a 24-hour, wintertime communications exercise held on the last full weekend of January each year. It’s a fun and challenging event for amateur radio operators of all levels to test their skills in setting up and operating a temporary radio station under winter conditions.
Here are some key things to know about WFD:
The Goal:
- Set up a portable emergency communications station and make as many contacts as possible with other participating stations.
- Practice operating in winter conditions, which can present unique challenges like cold temperatures, snow, and wind.
- Learn and improve your emergency communications skills.
Activities:
- Participants can operate on HF (High Frequency), VHF (Very High Frequency), and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) bands using various modes like phone, CW (Morse code), and digital data.
- Setting up a power source using batteries or generators is encouraged.
- Bonus points are awarded for operating from remote locations, using alternative power sources, and making contacts via satellites.
Participation:
- Open to all licensed amateur radio operators worldwide.
- Individuals or groups can participate.
- Many clubs and organizations hold their own WFD events.
Benefits:
- Great way to hone your radio operating skills and prepare for emergencies.
- Meet and connect with other ham radio enthusiasts.
- Have fun and experience the thrill of setting up and operating a temporary station in the winter elements.
Upcoming WFD:
The next WFD will be held on January 27-28, 2024.
Resources:
- Official WFD website: https://winterfieldday.org/
- Rules and regulations: https://winterfieldday.org/
- Tips for participating: https://winterfieldday.org/
Additional Information:
- WFD is not a competition, but it does have a scoring system based on the number of contacts made and bonus points earned.
- Many participants enjoy the social aspect of WFD and use it as an opportunity to get together with friends and fellow ham radio operators.
I hope this gives you a good overview of Amateur Radio Winter Field Day. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask!
NO RSVP is Needed!
You do not have to be a member or a ham operator to join our monthly club dinner!
Check back for any updated news regarding DINNER!
If you have any questions about ham radio operator, any of the activities we do or our involvement in the community please come and ask!
Location:
Wings Plus
9880 W Sample Rd
Coral Springs, FL 33065
Our March meeting will again be presented by Robert Molleda of the NWS in Miami, this time on the Hurricane Season and storm preparedness. We invite all hams to come and learn about this season’s forecasts and how we can protect ourselves and others for it. We would greatly appreciate seeing many volunteers gear up to man the shelters this year. It is a great way to use your amateur RADIO license. See you there!
Topic: GCARA GENERAL MEETING
Time: Mar 26, 2024 06:30 PM
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CQ, CQ, CQ, calling ALL hams………….
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! I hope that the holidays were kind to people and that you made many QSOs with friends and relatives this year. I have been praying for all to have good health this year and many fortuitous opportunities to use their craft with amateur radio. How blessed we are to have the skill of communication in this world, free and untethered by political intrigue. Let’s use it for the good of humanity and our fellow citizens and keep the lines of communication open to all.
It is my hope this year to see more volunteerism with our hobby. Even if you are past the age of volunteering there are things you can contribute to the hobby. For one thing, we need mentors for the newer generation and your help can make things go much better for new hams. Let’s use our license this year to make a big difference in the world from our home bases.
The first event this year for GCARA will be the Winter Field Day we are hosting along with Broward County ARES/RACES. Please do not undervalue this event. This does not happen by itself. It takes many hours of planning, paperwork and the coordination between many hams in our service to accomplish this exercise. It is very important that we see a return on our investment this year in the number of people participating in it or we may lose our venue altogether. The Broward County ARES/RACES group, as well as Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association Board, go to many lengths to provide for the ham community in this event and we also use this venue as an outreach to the public to allow amateur radio to be recognized and utilized in wider circles of society. The saying goes, “If you don’t use it, you lose it!” and that is so true here.
Our older members are now reaching an age where all of the planning and work that goes into a big effort like this, is getting difficult, no matter how positive the attitudes are. We need people who are interested in learning how to present and promote such a big event for our hobby in the future. If you have never volunteered, now is the time to do it for the ham community. Never before in our society, has it been so important and appropriate to keep our abilities to communicate with one another open and free. Censorship has become the norm in many circles. Let us not have our mouths muted in this tremendous, free opportunity for goodwill in the world. Let us share and use our talents in the world for the benefit of others.
GCARA seeks to thank and recognize the chairman of this event, Joe McGee NX4T, who has graciously and generously stepped up to do the planning and organization of our ham opportunity this winter. Joe has worked with others, like Tom Savoca, K9JTS, our PIO, Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB, Broward County RACES officer, Jeff Stahl K4BH, Broward County ARES Emergency Coordinator, Dan Vasilca AI4WW, Ricky Eaton KD4HGR, our Repeater Trustee, Gerald Deitch W4LST, Kenny Hollenbeck KE4NC, Aurora Figueiredo WD4AGF, Alan Lisler NT4AL, Jesse Shannon KJ4FKK, Ben Echavarria N7BBE, and newcomer Bill Mercer KE8TPU, all during the month of December, and through the holidays, to make this effort take shape. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your help in this effort. Without your generous natures, this event would not happen. Others will help in the execution of the event in the comfortable weather we have been promised this time of year and remain to be named later. Thanks in advance for making the load lighter.
GCARA has long had the reputation for hosting these Field Days and in the last year after the COVID Pandemic Era, we have struggled to come back. If things become such a monumental struggle in the future, and no one seeks to help, it may disappear, and we will have lost a great gift to our hobby. Get involved. Call Joe McGee NX4T at 954-782-3543 to see where you can volunteer in WFD this year. We need set up and tear down people, Ambassadors to visitors, operators on the radio, a bigger overnight crew and YOU to make this a successful venture. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
We will have several opportunities to enjoy this year’s function in the persona of antenna exhibits, a fox hunt, scheduled operating times so every person with a desire to operate a radio, can do so, and plenty of food to stave off the appetites of workers and guests.
For people setting up, there will be coffee and doughnuts from Dandees. Lunch will be hamburgers, chicken breasts, hot dogs and chili for the cool weather expected. We will once again feature the Overnighter’s dinner in the form of a Brazilian BBQ, prepared for those seeking to stay overnight. It will be a delicious high protein dinner with traditional sides overseen by Carol Sjursen KJ4AWB. You do not want to miss this incentive to stay
overnight and operate!
Mike Wolf promises to cook a morning breakfast on Sunday morning featuring bacon, eggs, bagels, coffee and orange juice to start your day.
Please do not let our efforts be for naught. Come out and visit, operate or view our exhibits, and greet any hams from out of the area who may stop
by to visit. There are never strangers at our events, only friends we have yet to make.
Thank you for your consideration and start the year off right!!
-submitted by Melanie Fernandez KJ4VCT, President of GCARA
Winter Field Day Discussion Jan. 23, 2023
Welcome to the New Year 2024! As you know, we will be having our emergency exercises at Quiet Waters Park on Jan. 27, and 28, 2024. Since our meeting falls immediately prior to that, we will hold a discussion on what is planned, and how to register for time on the radios. Joe McGee NX4T, our Field Day Chairman will be leading the conversation, and we hope that everyone who attends will plan on coming out to FIELD DAY.
Topic: GCARA GENERAL MEETING
Time: Jan 23, 2024 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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- +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
- +1 360 209 5623 US
- +1 386 347 5053 US
- +1 507 473 4847 US
- +1 564 217 2000 US
- +1 669 444 9171 US
- +1 689 278 1000 US
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GCARA Members and friends, we have an exciting announcement. Thanks to the diligence of Board Members, Joe McGee NX4T and Tom Savoca K9TJS, we have an online booking system for guaranteeing your time on the radio at this Winter field Day, Jan 27/28th, 2024.
BOOKING THE STATION OR REGISTERING FOR THE EVENT IS OVER.
PLEASE SHOW UP AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY AVAILABLE SLOT.
We are asking for reservations, so we know how much food to purchase. If you could mention the times you are interested going, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, this is the first time we hope to hear that a lot of people worked the radio at Field Day!
Our Field Day Coordinator, Joe McGee NX4T, has done a lot of planning and making arrangements for a good time for all on Winter Field Day and it would be a downright shame to miss it. We (Joe McGee NX4T and Aurora Figueiredo WD4AGF) worked on getting out 454 hand addressed post card WFD invitations to the hams in areas surrounding the QUIET WATERS PARK and Ft. Lauderdale. It was a fantastic idea of Joe McGee’s and we gave it a try to see if we can get a large group of hams there.
While most of you were celebrating the holidays in your favorite way, Tom Savoca and Joe McGee were steadily at work getting the forms ready for
the W4BUG.org website. Thank you, gentlemen, for your time and talents on our behalf……
Please come and join us. It just won’t be a success without you there to share it with.
Warmest regards,
Melanie KJ4VCT and your Board of Directors
Planning continues for our 2024 Winter Field Day activities, which will occur on January 27/28 at Quiet Waters Park, Bald Eagle Pavilion in Deerfield Beach. Setup will commence Saturday at 8 AM and the on-air contest will extend from 2 PM Saturday to 2 PM Sunday.
As outlined in the previous announcement, we will host 3 HF stations (phone, CW, & digital) in addition to a UHF/VHF station. There will be operational demonstrations of various antenna systems including magnetic loops, dipoles, and two band Yagis for satellite contacts. In addition a fox hunt will be conducted, and a demonstration of our remote HF station will be available. The remote station and magnetic loop antennas should be of special interest for those who live with limited or restricted antenna space.
We seek volunteers to support this event, both with setup/teardown and SSB operation. Something new this year is a provision for reserving operating time on the SSB station. This will ensure that you will be able to get on the air at a specific time, and you may reserve your time prior to the event on our website.
Click here for the SSB registration form to reserve an operating time on the SSB station.
Food and drink will be available for a modest fee (largely subsidized by the club). That will be described in our next announcement There will be rest rooms available, and we encourage those who can to stay with us overnight to support our late night efforts on the air.
There is a fee of $1.50 per person for admission to the park.
Contact Joe, NX4T at mcgee3543@bellsouth.net if you have questions, comments, or
suggestions.
Please do join us.
73, Joe, NX4T, Event Chairman
Saturday morning ” ham” breakfast.
From 7 to 9 AM interested Hams meet since 1994 at JJs Cafe for breakfast.
Everyone is welcome to join.
JJs Cafe
6051 NW 31st Ave,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
http://jjcafefood.com/
